The latest on California politics and government

June 25, 2014

Gov. Jerry Brown has signed legislation accelerating the teacher firing process in California, his office announced Wednesday.

Brown's action follows a Los Angeles Superior Court ruling this month declaring California's teacher dismissal rules unconstitutional, though the legislation's proponents began working on the issue before the ruling.

Assembly Bill 215, by Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo, attempts to limit the length of teacher dismissal appeals and contains an accelerated dismissal process for teachers accused of egregious offenses such as molesting children.

Brown signed the bill without comment. The Democratic governor vetoed a similar bill last year, writing in a veto message that he shared a "desire to streamline the teacher discipline process," but that the bill was an imperfect solution.

In a closely-watched decision earlier this month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rolf Treu ruled that the state's rules for teacher tenure and dismissal deprive students of their constitutional right to a quality education, finding "no dispute that there are a significant number of grossly ineffective teachers currently in California classrooms."